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The Influencers: Tandy Robinson

Nov 01st 2012

Tandy Robinson

Vice president, Goldman Sachs; local driver of Impact 100 movement

Background: After a career in finance in Atlanta and Washington, Robinson returned to Delray Beach about 10 years ago, got married, had a baby and now works in wealth management for Goldman Sachs. While visiting a client in Vero Beach she learned about a refreshing new way to give back—Impact 100—where 100 (or more) woman give $1,000 each and then vote on which charity to give it to (after several finalists present their cases at one group meeting). The inaugural Impact 100 in Boca, held this past year, was a resounding success; 148 woman donated $1,000 each, allowing the organization to give one grant of $100,000 and four of $12,000 each. The Parent-Child Center in Riviera Beach earned the top prize for its new trauma team. “I think it’s efficient philanthropy,” Robinson says. “[We] can say to local nonprofits, ‘Think big—if we were to drop $100,000 into your laps, what would you do with it?’ I have never done something that direct or that meaningful before.”

How she is making a difference:Robinson believes that streamlining philanthropy this way allows more women to get involved and has a larger imprint on specific charities. (Although a subcommittee narrows the charities to five finalists, most of the donors go to only one meeting—and then decide who will receive the money. No galas, no dinners, no auctions—one check, one vote, one meeting.) “For me, personally, it is this idea of trying to balance it all, trying to have a full-time job, trying to have a family and just wanting to be direct about the giving. I think people in general today want to be more thoughtful, strategic and efficient with their time. ... One hundred thousand dollars can make a meaningful impact.”

What the future holds: “I’d like ustoeventually give two or three [rounds of] grants annually—and to see more generations of women come together to give back to the local community,” Robinson says. “Ideally, I would love to see [women of all age groups] come together. We all have so much to learn from each other.”